Reydon

infobox UK place

country = England
latitude= 52.3376

longitude= 1.6695

official_name= Reydon
population = 2,567 (2001 Census)
shire_district= Waveney
region= East of England

shire_county = Suffolk
constituency_westminster= Suffolk Coastal
post_town= SOUTHWOLD
postcode_district = IP18
postcode_area= IP
dial_code= 01502
os_grid_reference= TM499774

Reydon is a village adjacent to but inland from Southwold in Suffolk, England.The name roughly means Rye Hill (Rey meaning Rye and Don as an old English word for hill or rise).Taken from East Anglian Daily Times. 20th October 2007. Page 37]

The parish church is St Margarets.

Reydon High School closed some years ago, with students now being bussed to other schools in the area and the land sold for housing development. However, Reydon Primary School is still running with many children from the village, Wrentham, Wangford and Southwold going there.

Another major school in Reydon is St. Felix. This was an all girls public school but now takes pupils of both sexes from ages 1 to 18.

There are three main roads through Reydon, around which the village is based. These are:

*Halesworth Road (Leading to Halesworth)
*Wangford Road (Leading to Wangford)
*Lowestoft Road (Leading to Lowestoft)

There are only two shops in Reydon. One is the former Post Office, also known as "Barbrooks" (after the owners) which stocks many groceries, magazines and other general goods. The other, also eponymous, is "Boydens Stores".

In 2007 the Royal Mail decided to remove the post office facilities at Barbrook's, as part of a plan to reduce the Royal Mail's financial losses. Although this retrograde move was strongly opposed (throughout a "consultation" exercise) by most people living in Reydon, together with local and national politicians, the Post Office in Reydon nonetheless closed on 11th February, 2008. However, Barbrook's continue, in the same premises, as one of the two village stores.

Reydon also has one Public House (and hotel with restaurant) known as The Randolph Hotel. It was briefly (and controversially) renamed "The Cricketers", due to the adjacent locality of Southwold's former Eversley School cricket ground and playing fields. It reverted to its original name after a few years.

Since the closure of Eversley School, this land has been unused and is likely to be the site for more building development.

Reydon has in recent years been flooded with new housing construction, due mainly to the rising house prices in Southwold and the popularity of Reydon as a retirement village. The increase in population means that Reydon now has many more inhabitants than Southwold; where once the reverse was true.

The increasing number of homes has also led to the loss of much of Reydon's previous "small village" feeling. Additionally, the inflated house prices in Southwold have led to a number of properties in Reydon being purchased for holiday homes and second homes. These are often unoccupied for long periods of time; and this has also contributed to the loss of community.

A major build in 2004 has been a 4400 m² distribution center for Adnams Brewery constructed and built with the environment in mind on the site of an old open cast sand quarry.

References

External links

* [http://www.reydon.suffolk.sch.uk/ Reydon Primary School]
* [http://www.stfelix.co.uk St. Felix School]
* [http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/reydon.htm St. Margarets Church]
* [http://www.therandolph.co.uk/ The Randolph Hotel]
* [http://www.hoarelea.com/projects/Project.cfm?Sector_id=13&content_id=121 Hoare Lea description of the environmentally friendly distribution center]
* [http://www.adnams.co.uk/ Adnams PLC]
* Rev. John Youngs - founder of Southold, NY, born in Reydon